Last year, Jimenez’s second book, The Spear Cuts Through Water, was my book of the year. It was a book that stunned me with its beauty in both the prose and narrative choices. Now I found myself eagerly jumping into his first book, The Vanished Birds. Could it be as wonderful as book number two? Most likely not. I didn’t want to raise my expectations too high. That would be unfair to the book and to my own level of enjoyment. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry. The Vanished Birds has a beauty all on its own, separate and distinct from its sophomore cousin.
This science fiction tale follows several protagonists through many years of time. This passage of time is a running theme throughout the book; how it affects us, how it would look different for a crew that travels through space with time dilation, and just the general perception of it. One quote I really liked was: “He wanted to warn these children that time was not their friend; that though today might seem special, there would be a tomorrow, and a day after that; that the best-case scenario of a well-spent life was the slow and steady unraveling of the heart’s knot.” Once again, beautiful writing.
Also, the symbolism of birds runs rampant throughout the narrative. Jimenez relates human behavior to avian life with themes of ‘leaving the nest’ and ‘the cruelty of birds in a flock’ and the ‘carrion pecking’ that birds partake in. Both individual humans and societies take part in this type of behavior in some manner.
Jimenez also gives nods to science fiction history. He explores the oncoming ability of jaunting, a direct nod to Alfred Bester’s classic book, The Stars My Destination and possibly others. He also names a side character, Algernon, in reference to the Daniel Keyes’ science fiction novel. I’m sure there were other easter eggs in the book that I didn’t pick up on as well.
There is a bittersweet quality to this story that sits heavy on the heart. It’s not a happy tale and contains enough twists and turns to keep you on guard. There were a few places that genuinely surprised me, which is always a plus in my book. I was enchanted once again by Jimenez’s characters. They were all people I wanted to know more about; likable, yet balanced. They didn’t always do the right thing but always had their own justifications for their actions that made sense for who we knew them to be, based upon our experience with the narrative. Can’t ask for more than that.
I really enjoyed Jimenez’s wonderful take on a classic stand-alone sci-fi tradition. He took the best aspects of genre bending ideas and involved world building, then mixed them with deep character fragments and gave us a surprising, touching, and emotional tale. Highly recommended. I very much look forward to his next book to see if he can keep the hits coming.
